MANDATORY
ULTRASOUNDS
ROBYN
PERRY-THOMAS
BY
FOR ABORTION
In a world where informed consent is a cornerstone of medical practice, can there ever be such a thing as too
much information and, if so, does forcing women to have ultrasounds prior to obtaining an abortion cross this line?
to a termination, including in the UK where they are used to
date the pregnancy, it is clear from the invasive and
excessive requirements made in these laws that such
medical motives were not the priority when these
regulations were enacted.
The definition of consent given by the NHS, and shared by
many healthcare services worldwide, is that ‘For consent to
be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person
consenting must have the capacity to make the decision.’
Crucially we must recognise that a decision can still be
valid if it is not the one that a